When Alibaba's Jack Ma Told Me Take Your Time
PEOPLE |

When Alibaba's Jack Ma Told Me Take Your Time

MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SOUTHERN EUROPE FOR THE ECOMMERCE GIANT, ALUMNUS RODRIGO CIPRIANI WORKS ON ITS NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLAINS ITS PHILOSOPHY TO ITALIAN COMPANIES

Take your time. The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, said these words of encouragement two years ago to Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, Bocconi graduate, appointing him to develop the Italian division of the Chinese network. “It was a reassurance, followed by a very clear declaration of intent,” remembers the manager, 53, who is now Managing Director of Alibaba Group for Southern Europe. “We will be in Italy for at least the next 25-30 years, he told me, so you need to build a solid foundation, and take your time to do things right. That’s when I understood what it means for Chinese companies to have vision and planning skills. In the headquarters in Hangzhou it is not a rare occurrence to have meetings on development 20 or 30 years into the future.”

➜ What is it like now, after the first 18 months in Italy?
We’ve had a very positive record. We chose an office in the heart of Milan, where a staff of 11 people work. The main task that I was assigned was to bring Italian brands and companies to our e-commerce platforms to reach the 454mn Chinese consumers connected. During this time, we have opened more than 60 stores, more than the rest of Europe. We have just inaugurated the Italian section of Alibaba.com, a platform for worldwide B2B, the largest in the world. It puts 100mn buyers in contact with 2mn suppliers in 190 countries around the world.

➜ Is one of the objectives to place Alibaba among the online shopping sites for Italian consumers?
That is not one of our missions. First of all, we need to explain Alibaba’s well-structured ecosystem and philosophy to Italian companies. And then we need to work on defining the strategy for valuing their brands. There are approximately 1.2bn products on our marketplace. You either create a niche or, even if the Chinese market is an opportunity, you disappear.

➜ How are Italian companies responding?
They are showing interest, the opportunity is exceptional. Italy is a country of exporters, second in Europe only to Germany. It’s true that of the 225,000 companies that export, 40% have only one country as its destination, but it’s even more interesting that Italy exports more in Switzerland and Belgium than China. This difference is that sales in China are objectively difficult and you need to be prepared to face this complexity. Unfortunately, I must say that it’s difficult to find experienced Italian managers, with a medium- and long-term business plan. Many people think they can start today and profit tomorrow, even without e-commerce experience.

➜ What features does a brand have to have to be appreciated?
A project is needed that aims to increase demand in China. Alibaba’s business is not to open stores, it’s to make sales. Alibaba earns a commission on successful sales. This is part of the reason why you can’t register on Alibaba, you can only be invited. The information exchanged with China is often about the brands that are more sought after there, and it doesn’t always correspond with our perception of them. In the past, for example, Hangzhou told us that there was a lot of interest in Ferragni products in China. We ended up opening a store with them before many other fashion brands.

➜ How much is Alibaba investing in Italy?
All our investments should create benefits for Italian companies, if indirectly. The service that could generate the most new business, though, is Alipay, a platform for smartphone payments. It’s a win-win operation, with almost no cost, which allows Chinese consumers to spend more money in Italy. Chinese tourists don’t use credit cards, they’re used to paying with their cell phones. 500mn Chinese people already have Alipay and when they go abroad they can’t bring too much cash. Being able to use Alipay therefore has an immediate advantage. Before the summer, almost 3,000 stores and points of sale in Italy will be enabled to use this tool, but I hope that dissemination becomes exponential in Italy.
 
Read More on this topic:
Andrea Colli, China Inc: The Celestial Empire Is Changing Direction
Elisabetta Marafioti, Chinese Digital Capitalism
Dino Ruta, China's Soccer Strategy
Dialogue between Italy and China is an opportunity for all concerned. Interview with Marco Tronchetti Provera
Andrea Ghizzoni, I Can Tell You Why Tencent Chose Italy to Win Over Europe
Emanuele Francia, How I Help Chinese Companies Acquire Expertise
Kelly Chen, The Reasons Behind China's Successful Expansion
What Our Country Can Give You
 

by Lorenzo Martini
Translated by Jenna Walker


Latest Articles People

Go to archive
  • Egypt's Two Paths to Consumer Goods

    Agricultural exports on the one hand and strengthening of local production on the other: these are the opportunities that Moustafa Hassanein, Alumnus and Deputy General Manager of Maggie Metal Corporation, identifies in the market of a country that continues to exhibit strong demographic growth

  • ​Three Cities, Three Homes for Bocconi Alumni

    The Bocconians working in European institutions in Brussels, Frankfurt and Luxembourg have a point of reference also in the local chapters of the Bocconi Alumni Community. A word from the three leaders

  • Roberto, Who Witnessed the Birth of the ECB

    First at the European Monetary Institute, the embryo of the European Central Bank, today DG Corporate Services of the latter. This is Alumnus Roberto Schiavi's professional career. Currently based in Frankfurt, he recalls how, despite the problems in recent years, the monetary union has never really been at risk

Browse the magazine in digital format.

View previous issues of Via Sarfatti 25

BROWSE THE MAGAZINE

Events

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
        1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31